Day-To-Day
by guilea
Summary: In a seaside town in New Hampshire USA, a group of students filter in and out of the private school: Trinity Academy. Everyone's got their own story to tell, how they deal with the pressures of life and continue on their day-to-day. Updates may be out of order. Modern Day, School AU. Content warning for mentions of mental illness, abuse, suicide, LGBT , etc. Work in Progress.
1. New Lights: Aqua

Bright ocean-eyes looked over the crowd, soft azure locks gently framing her face as she tucked a loose strand behind her ear and took a calming breath. In. Out. Her shoulders rolled back and her back straightened, stepping confidently out onto the stage to stand behind the podium, a gentle hand guiding the microphone to her lips, practiced, delicate.

A soft smile graced her lips, chest light as she pulled her feet together and made eye contact with the audience, memorized script sitting uselessly upon the podium. From the speakers, her voice rang clear over the crowd of teenagers.

"Welcome new students of Trinity Academy. My name is Aqua Hollis, your Student Council President. Your enrollment in this prestigious school shows a great deal about you all. Whether it is excellence in academics, or athletics, or extracurricular pursuits, each and every one of you is a shining beacon that will become a guiding light to the next generation of students in due time."

Where was Van? Her eyes scanned the Freshman as she gave her speech, trying to pick out the blonde hair of her youngest brother. Where was he? He'd been with her and Ven this morning when they'd arrived to the school. Had he taken his medication this morning? Her gaze darted to the Sophomores seated to the left of the Freshmen, quickly picking out her other sibling's fluffy blonde head beside the disheveled ponytailed redhead he spent far too much time with. She was far from Reno's biggest fan, they hadn't seen even close to eye to eye since elementary school.

Ventus met his sister's gaze, catching her dart to the Freshmen crowd and pausing in his laughter to crane his neck to look for Vanitas amidst the other kids. All the while, Aqua's speech continued, carefully timed and level and friendly.

"We here in the Student Council are your voice. Please don't hesitate to approach any of us if you have any questions, or if you have suggestions on how to make our school a brighter place in the future. Congratulations, new students, and may your heart be your guiding key that unlocks the door to your futures."

As Aqua stepped to the side for the Dean to give his own speech, she spotted an amber-eyed boy in the group, his hair dripping and messily stuck to his face, breathing a bit hard, but otherwise going unnoticed by the other students, who were too wrapped up in their own nerves. Black water droplets stained the shoulders of his white uniform as he made eye contact with Aqua, his breathing starting to ease slightly as they maintained eye contact. Freshly dyed hair, and she imagined there was a bathroom sink in the school that bore the stains to prove it, marks of his episode.

 _'Van, no...'_

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Welcome to the out-of-order Real-World / School AU known as Day-To-Day!**

 **I hope you guys end up liking it, I'm really in love with these characters, and the ways they differ from their in-game counterparts as a result of their differing experiences. Don't worry, Aqua is still a mother hen and Riku is still... well, Riku.**

 **Thank you guys for reading!**


	2. Here's The Scoop: Ventus

Ventus pulled out his notepad, eyes shining as he got his first interview of the week. This was his favorite part of being on the school newspaper. Going around and talking to people, getting their real opinions on everything from sports team fundraisers to college prospects- And he could always depend on the two redheaded brothers to have an opinion.

"Do you believe that the new standards for nutritional content for school lunches will have a positive effect in our district, or will it just further restrict an already limited menu?" Ventus looked up from his paper for a second, expectant, but remembering just a little too late who it was who agreed to this interview when he was met by a cocked eyebrow. "Right, Reno, you don't do hot lunches, do you? I... I don't remember seeing you in the lunch room at all this year. Hey, Reno, did you fill your schedule with classes this year? That must be hours of homework every night, jeez." He shook his head, accidentally-on-purpose filling in his interviewee's part of the conversation to cover his blunder.

But his awkward recovery was short lived, and pretty quickly, he settled back into his usual voice. Not his _'reporter getting the scoop'_ voice, not his _'oh wow I just asked the guy with money problems about school lunches, time to laugh and pretend that didn't happen'_ voice, but just Ventus talking to his friend.

"If you ever need a study partner, just let me know, okay? We have the same pre-calc teacher, so we probably have the same material. Work together so we both do better- Because that's what friends are for."

As Ventus finally calmed down, returning to his typical manner, Reno shook his head with a laugh. Ruffling his best friend's hair and throwing an arm over his shoulder comfortably, he started leading him back toward the building and away from the courtyard. "Yeah, yeah. Take it easy, Ven. C'mon, y'know who loves having opinions? Axel."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Ven is the purest cinnamon roll.**

 **It's short but sweet?**

 **Just like Ven hahahahahhahahah**


	3. My Freshman: Axel, Riku

"Aww, look at 'em all filter in."

Axel walked alongside his brother, matching red hair bobbing in spikes as they strode into the school. The new Freshman class had finally emerged from the auditorium and were confusedly making their way into the building.

Blue eyes smirked at him. "Any thoughts on what kind of Freshman you're gonna pick, bro? Make it a good one."

Axel waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. I'm not like you. I plan on sticking with _ONE_ Freshman, Reno. They're supposed to be for taking someone under your wing, not for trying to date. You creep."

"Hey, hey, they coulda said no."

"They did. Most of the time."

"Harsh."

They laughed, but despite Axel's nonchalant tone, he was looking them over. That kid's a nerd... Clear band geek over there... Ew, rich kid, no thanks...

Oh hello there. Kinda tall kid, silver hair. Athletic, maybe? Damn he was pretty. And not that he was looking but the boy had a nice body. Alright, looking a little. Definitely keep that one in mind.

Reno flopped his arm around Axel's shoulder, following his interested gaze.

"Got your eyes on the pretty boy? You're so fucking gay."

Axel rolled his eyes, holding his hands up in a flashy ta-da gesture. "Surprise!"

"What happened to not being me?"

"Shut up."

* * *

 _Riku followed the crowd from the auditorium, matching the halls to the map he'd looked over for a few minutes this morning. Far too few minutes. He rolled his shoulders back, for once alone in the crowd. If he didn't pause to think about how Sora and Kairi would be spending this year without him, it was almost nice to get a chance to explore on his own. No friendly faces in the crowd, no one hanging off him and laughing._

 _It was good to be alone, to give the other two a chance to stretch their wings. Right. Keeping pace in the throng, Riku pulled at his tie, loosening it from its nearly strangling grip on his neck._

* * *

Axel gave his brother a playful shove as Reno headed off to his own classes. Axel didn't envy the last-second "make me look good to a college" credits that Reno was having to do. But, now that he was alone he could start trying to blend among the Freshman. Not that Axel could blend in anywhere. There were always looks, and the Freshman girls were definitely taking their eyefuls.

Not that Axel was paying attention to them. He had his eyes on the silver-haired boy. Just had to get a closer look, right?

Adjusting his tie. Cute. As Axel caught up to him, he flopped an arm over his shoulder. Definitely an athlete, wow he was muscular up top. "Hey there."

* * *

 _The school mostly kept freshmen corralled in to keep them from getting too overwhelmed in their first year, so it couldn't be too hard for Riku to find his classes. His locker, who knew where that would be, but his classes wouldn't be too much of a-_

 _Riku looked up when an arm suddenly appeared over his shoulder. Smiling face, right in his face. Maybe things wouldn't be so different after all. "Hey."_

* * *

Oh wow, he was eerily pretty. "Oh wow, you are eerily pretty."

* * *

 _The guy hanging his arm over his shoulder called him pretty. That wasn't exactly how he had planned to start his high school career. Riku sort of shrugged, not sure what to do with this compliment. "Thanks...?"_

* * *

Axel smirked. Cute, awkward, oh he was going to ruin this kid in two years. "Yep, I want the pretty one. You're my Freshman. So, gimme your schedule, I'll show you around."

* * *

 _His... freshman. His pretty freshman. Right. Riku had so many misgivings when it came to following this guy's lead, but what's the worst that could come with giving him a chance? Getting locked in a closet for a few hours?_

 _Riku pulled a folded-up schedule from his pocket, making direct eye contact with the guy as he handed it over. Do not rip up this piece of paper. Do not run away with it. Do not screw me over. "Nothing too special for classes, if that's what you're looking for."_

* * *

Fairly standard stuff. This kid was not an over-achiever, which was fine. He wondered idly what sports this kid clearly played. He didn't strike Axel as a football kid. English, Algebra, all basic level but not lower level, there was some hope there but- oh hey.

"Oh hey, you do metals. Did you do it in Junior High too? You gotta see the workshop, it's crazy," Axel started pointing down various halls, actually doing a fairly good job of explaining the school's layout. The halls were numbered and color coded. The shops were all downstairs and free to use, something Axel was very happy to point out to the cute freshman. "You've still got some time before your first actual class, if you want to take a peek at the shop."

With the arm around Riku's shoulder as leverage, he started to drag him down the hall.

* * *

 _Looks like high school life wasn't going to be as isolated as he'd hoped._

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **This is actually the first chapter I wrote of this, before I knew it would be anything more than this scene. Hoo boy.**


	4. Dying Duck: Roxas

The 9:30 bell rang above the din of B-period band. Hayner pretended to warm up by belting pieces of unrelated melodies at Xion, honking and wailing on his alto as she tried so hard to align her clarinet's reed while laughing. Roxas sat with his reed still stuck in his mouth like he was told not to, shuffling through the loose sheet music to find the march they would be rehearsing today.

"Roxas!" A nudge from Hayner, and he looked up from his mess of music. "You coming back to the saxes, or are you going to play the dying duck forever?"

Roxas had no choice but to make an awful screeching whine through the double reed.

"You dork." They locked eyes. It was a standoff. Tension between them rose, thick as the bad blood from Roxas leaving the saxophones. Traitor to the section. He'd left them all and never looked back. The director was still handling an issue with the marimba, there was still time to-

 _ **PVVVVVVVFFFF**_

"You duck."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **These mini-scenes aren't all I'll be doing I promise-**


	5. Fallen Angel: Vanitas, Riku

Vanitas pulled out his phone to check the time. Don't be late, they said. Everything will start at 9:35, under the bleachers. Well, here he was under the bleachers. Where were they?

He leaned against a support, listening to the sounds of the crowds. A soda can dropped from above, someone's forgotten drink knocked between the seats on the bleachers to fizzle out onto the dirt. Everyone was so wrapped up in these football games. How pathetic. They never thought about what could happen at a place like this. With his pockets stuffed full of smoke bombs, none of them really would see anything coming, would they?

Footsteps. Vanitas looked up, hiding his alert behind an amused grin. Silver hair, blue eyes- Here he was in the flesh. The school's fallen angel, Riku, looking so out of place here among the paper plates and soda cans. "Look who decided to show up after all. Maybe you're not as pathetic as I thought."

He jerked his head out toward the field, already impatient with the former jock's reluctance. Riku knew his way around here- He practically lived on these fields before his fall from grace. He was friends with the coaches, wouldn't stand out if they were caught, and most importantly, he had no choice but to follow along. Or did he want to pass on the pay and drop out, and hit rock bottom just like his mom?

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **I hope y'all are ready to feel bad for Vanitas one of these days.**


	6. Crimson Sunsets: Axel, Roxas

Axel flopped down on the rooftop, looking out over the beach. At least Sora's house had a nice view. He was glad Riku was spending time with Sora again, it'd been a rough patch for all of them when he'd been with the Norts, but that didn't mean it wasn't boring as hell to hang around while Sora hung off of Riku.

He glanced up at the sound of the window opening, and watched a fluffy blonde head poke out.

"Hey. Roxas." he lifted his hand, gesturing to invite the boy over to sit with him. Cute little musician, Sora's much quieter twin brother. He didn't talk much but at least he also seemed kind of lonely. Axel definitely welcomed the company.

* * *

 _A smile spread across Roxas' face as Axel called him over. It was nice that Sora had his best friend back, but Roxas... missed his brother. It still surprised him every time Axel decided to stay with him instead of heading off to do whatever college kids do to unwind. Axel was pretty popular, right? He probably had a ton of friends, he was so..._

 _Carefully, slowly, Roxas slipped out the window. He placed a careful foot on the edge of the window and pulled himself onto the overhang, trying to move smoothly, like he'd done this the thousand times Sora and Riku had. "Axel, hey," he said back, lowering himself to sit next to the redhead. Don't be annoying. So far so good. "What's up?"_

* * *

Roxas clearly didn't utilize the rooftop like the others did, and it was endearing in a way to see him try to hard to play it cool. Axel smiled. "Not much. Sora and Riku are doing their thing, so I figure if I kick around then Riku will be free of his brunette handcuffs eventually," he laughed, shaking his head.

He turned to look at Roxas as he sat down beside him. The sun was starting to set, and the reds and yellows and oranges cast a glow on Roxas' hair and skin. Holy hell this kid looked like an actual, literal angel. Don't say that out loud, you'll probably scare him off, and you can NOT afford to scare him off.

Alright. Make conversation, then, asshole. He looked out over the beach again, at the sun's glow leaving the sky a vibrant crimson in it's wake. "Hey, Roxas, bet you don't know why the sun sets red. Y'see, light is made up of lots of colors. And out of all those colors, red is the one that travels the farthest."

* * *

 _Roxas nodded to Axel's predicament. It wouldn't change any time soon. When Sora went through a Riku phase, he got stuck on him for at least two or three months. Did Axel know that? He wasn't sure._

 _He curled himself in a little, resting his arms over his knees and watching the sun set from the rooftop. It was nice up here, in Sora and Riku's spot. The breeze off the water was a little cool, but the last of the sun's rays were still warm on his face._

 _"Like I asked, know-it-all," came his quick reply, grinning out to the stretch of sun shining off the water. Wait. Wait. Roxas looked up to Axel, eyes wide. Reach out, grab those words, and put them back where they came from. If only, but no. An apology caught in his throat, his lips caught halfway between a sheepish smile and still trying to form a sentence. "Ah."_

* * *

Axel paused, looking to Roxas with stunned surprise. That was definitely not the kind of retort he'd expected from the sweet little blonde. Almost... playfully bratty. Then the panic set in, and Roxas turned to him with wide blue eyes. There was more to this kid than Axel had thought- and so far he was liking this new side to the kid.

There was a brief pause, and Axel turned his face downward, snorting before breaking into a full, hearty laugh. "Jeez, Roxas, tell me how you really feel."

* * *

 _With an extended hand, as if still reaching out to take that comeback back, Roxas shook his head. "I mean, it's cool. The light spectrum- Your hair, I mean-"_

 _Axel was laughing. He thought it was funny. This was okay. What would Axel do if it wasn't alright, anyway, push him off the roof? It was fine, Roxas. The next sentence that wanted to come out of his mouth involved calling Axel a nerd, but that one stayed mercifully silent. His shocked expression melted into a smile._

* * *

Slowly, Axel wound down from his laughter, smiling at the younger boy as he started to relax, eyes bright with amusement as Roxas continued to stammer a little. He really was cute. Young, naive, clearly. But cute. Maybe hanging around with him wouldn't be such a bad thing.

"So, Roxas. You play an instrument, right?"

* * *

 _Roxas settled back into the tiled roof, trying to let his arms relax from around his knees. Talking to Riku's friend was getting easier than he thought. The first few times Axel had tried talking to him while Sora was clinging to Riku, Roxas had just nodded along, but now... He didn't know, maybe he was getting used to Axel. Maybe they could be friends._

 _"I play a few. Usually if you play one, you end up playing more than one, that's how it goes in the band, but... I'm an oboe player," he finally admitted. When people ask about instruments, they hoped for guitar. When they ask about bands, they think rock. Axel looked like he was trying to be a rock star- Wait, no, he just remembered! With renewed energy, Roxas looked back to Axel. "You used to be in drama, right? Sora and Riku were talking about it- I'm going to try out for pit next year."_

* * *

Axel perked slightly at this. "You are? I was in theatre, yeah. I hope you're good, thespians are picky, and if they let someone sub-par into the pit I'll have to give them a piece of my mind."

He smirked. A band geek, he really shouldn't have been surprised. Quiet, reserved kid. Definitely plays an instrument louder than he can scream. Probably feels bad for practicing in the house, the sweet thing. An oboe, that's a clarinet-kinda thing, right? Can't imagine there were many of those in their school, but the pit could probably use something like that.

The way Roxas lit up was charming. He... really wanted to know this kid. Maybe get close to him, who knows. Was that strange, with how young he was? He cleared his head. It was definitely not worth the trouble of thinking of him in any context other than a friend to spend time with.

* * *

 _"You don't think I'm any good? Now you're telling me how you really feel," he shot back, grinning right back up at Axel. It was a short moment, though. The shine off the ocean caught his eye, the sun hanging on the edge of the horizon and setting the ocean ablaze with light. Roxas hadn't seen it from up here before... But already, the sky was starting to dim into pinks and purples._

 _He looked down onto the sand, watching Sora and Riku sitting by the edge of the water. He wondered what they were talking about. He wondered how long things would be like this- Be okay between the two of them, he meant. He didn't want Sora to lose his best friend again. Roxas' smile waned as the warm light faded._

 _Eyes still on the pair at the water's edge, Roxas repeated Riku's advice from when they were all walking on the jetty together. "We should probably get off here before we lose the light, then our footing, then the ability to walk."_

* * *

"Yeah, those words aren't you, Roxy," he laughed, pulling himself up to stand and extending a hand to help Roxas up. "But we may as well head in, yeah?"

If he were lucky, he'd get some time with Riku on the walk back to his apartment. And any time Riku was out with him was time he wasn't home with that asshole. And that was fine with him. He couldn't be mad at Riku for spending time with Sora, not when he was away from Boyfriend of the Week.

Axel had overheard Riku's mom on the phone with /him/ when he'd picked Riku up. If she got back with the guy who almost ruined Riku's life-he steadied his breath, offering a smile to Roxas.

"Thanks for chilling with me, Roxy."

* * *

 _Roxas reached up to Axel, taking his hand and standing beside him on the roof. Wow, Axel was tall. Carefully, he edged toward the window he came in from. "Yeah, no problem. Thanks for letting me join you." A hesitant foot reached over, then made contact with the windowsill. He had to do this more often if he was going to hang out with Axel. "We should do this again, maybe. If you ever escape from your classes."_

* * *

Why not? "Yeah, I'll probably be around town on the weekends for awhile, at least until it gets a little closer to midterms and all that jazz. Can't leave Riku alone too long or he'll forget about me, right?" he laughed, watching Roxas delicately try to get back into the house. Adorable.

He slipped in after him effortlessly, he'd done this plenty of times. His feet touched down on the desk then the floor, standing beside Roxas on equal ground. Wow, Roxas was short.

"So I don't see why we wouldn't run into each other again."

* * *

 _Axel slipped through the window, smooth. Like a cat. Roxas watched him go from desk to floor, admiring how easily he got around. "I don't think anyone could forget about you, Axel," he said. No, put that back. God, Roxas, why are you like this? "But, yeah, so, I'll see you around then. Cool."_

* * *

Axel smirked, offering a small nod as he watched Roxas try to play cool. He really was adorable. "See you around, Roxy."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **First little AkuRoku slice.**


	7. Wingman: Axel, Roxas

_Roxas was never too far from Axel's side- He wasn't trying to be an annoying tag-along following him like a lost puppy, but the only other person here he knew was Riku, and he was busy with everyone else. He drifted after Axel as he broke himself off from the latest group, eyes slightly glazed over as the large group began to blur together into one mass of party._

 _"Hey Axel," he began, but the rest of the sentence died before it could go anywhere. Did the music drown out his voice? Roxas reached out to tap Axel's shoulder, but he ended up getting a handful of sleeve. "Sorry."_

* * *

Axel paused, turning to Roxas with a raised eyebrow. "You alright, Roxy? Sorry, I know you don't really know anyone here," he leaned down a bit, putting his hand on a table to prop himself up as he leveled himself with Roxas.

This was his element, of course. These were all friends of his, and people who wanted to be his friend. Parties were his kind of scene, but he felt like kind of an jerk for bringing Roxas now, looking at how overwhelmed he seemed. He should have been a lot more considerate of his small friend, but he'd seemed so happy to be invited-

He offered a soft smile. "If you want to go, we can go."

* * *

 _Roxas's eyes widened at the offer. He shook his head- He didn't want Axel to have to leave the party, no way. He wasn't that bad- He was fine. "No, I'm okay. I just didn't know how long the party goes for," he explained. "I like your friends." He couldn't name three people he'd spoken to tonight. "They're really nice." That was true, at least._

* * *

Axel nodded, gesturing with his head to a bench, one of the props from the production that had been carried here by someone. "Well I'm sick of being on my feet anyway, so why don't we sit for a few, yeah? Then we'll see if there's anyone left here that I still want to talk to."

* * *

 _With a slow nod, Roxas followed Axel's lead to the bench. He rested himself on the edge, looking up at Axel. Maybe he should get something to drink? That's a thing people do at parties. There was definitely a refreshment table around here somewhere. "You look like you're having a lot of fun. Do you guys do this a lot? After-parties, I mean."_

* * *

Axel shrugged. "Usually after opening night, yeah. Opening night and after a show's run is finished if we have to travel with it. But if we all got together after every show we'd all be at each other's throats," he laughed. "It's a miracle we don't kill each other before we pull back the red curtain sometimes."

He turned to Roxas with a smirk. "I do appreciate you being my-" he covered his brief hesitation by waving at someone, "-wingman. People seem to like you, despite you being a band geek," he gave Roxas a playful nudge in the shoulder.

* * *

 _Roxas smiled a little. He could see it, all the actors trying to murder each other with stage props. Dying melodramatically. But that hesitation- He was Axel's wingman, right. His friend. Or... Was Axel hesitating for a different reason? He was too hopeful. He was letting the buzz of the party get to his head. He was taking too long to answer! "If the stage rats don't like the pit, I guess they don't need any accompaniment after all. I'll spread the word on Monday."_

 _Roxas leaned into Axel's shoulder, not quite realizing he'd overstayed the nudge and went straight to resting against him._

* * *

"Go ahead. A capella musicals exist, don't think I wouldn't do it," he teased, looking down at his friend. Roxas really did look like an angel. He always had to stop himself from staring at the soft curves of his delicate face, his large blue eyes that were always so expressive, his small lips that always looked so soft-focus.

He laughed to cover his staring. Come up with an excuse. He definitely noticed you'd been watching him by now. "You say you don't want me to take you home, but you look a bit burnt out, Roxy."

* * *

 _Roxas looked up at Axel through his bangs, smiling. Axel had a nice voice. An a capella musical might not be that bad. It turned out that every time he spent time with Axel, there was something new about him that Roxas held onto. His stupid impressions. His ability to get onto a roof. His singing voice. How his hair looked in a ponytail. How his eyes changed when he was looking down at him, so bright but so soft, and wait no he didn't want to end Axel's night._

 _"I thought you said you'd look out for anyone else you'd want to talk to?" Roxas lifted himself from the taller boy's shoulder, looking him in the eye. "Unless you're trying to slip away early? I'm fine, Axel. I'm having a good time," he explained, then cocked his head a little. His voice lowered slightly, and all he could see was Axel. "I'm glad you brought me tonight."_

* * *

"Well," he started with an exaggerated sigh, "if I were to take anyone home tonight, they'd have to be okay with me dropping you off first. Don't want you to break curfew, your mom would never let me hear the end of it," he laughed, his expression landing on a playful smirk.

If Roxas were anyone else, looking up at him with those soft eyes, so comfortable and relaxed and close, he would have closed the gap. But he couldn't, right? They were friends, and Roxas was innocent, y'know? That wouldn't be fair to him. Soft-looking lips were not an invitation to test them out- not with Roxas.

Roxas was h- a bratty angel. A bratty angel who played an instrument that had too many buttons and sounded like a duck and never hesitated to call him a stage rat and laughed when he did something stupid but still seemed to have this crazy notion that he was cool.

Wingman. Right.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **These two got it bad.**


	8. Goodnight Wishes: Axel, Roxas

Axel couldn't quite keep track of how long they talked, how close their faces got with every laugh or nudge. He hadn't been paying attention to the few times their faces had almost brushed, the strands of wispy blonde hair that had accidentally touched his skin, making him shiver a little.

 _-that was a hell of a lie._

But what mattered was the playful banter in the car ride to Roxas' house, the bratty demand from Roxas for Axel to sing along when Roxas' favorite song came on the radio. The puffy-cheeked pout when he tried to refuse just to give his friend a hard time. That's what he should be focusing on.

And when he opened the door to help Roxas out of the truck, he didn't notice the soft curve of his waist when his hand landed there to brace him when he almost fell. He didn't notice those blue eyes of that bratty angel looking up at him, halfway between embarrassed for never being able to get in or out of the truck on his own- and a soft smile on soft-looking lips.

Why couldn't he focus? "You alright, Roxy?"

* * *

 _Roxas smiled up at Axel. Always there to catch him when he tripped out of the truck... "Yeah, I didn't even break my legs this time," he assured him. "My hero."_

 _It was getting late though, and Roxas... His mind and heart kept racing ahead, way past where he should have stopped his daydreaming. With the truck back in his driveway, the night was over. Almost._

* * *

Axel laughed, doing an over-exaggerated bow, and looking up at Roxas with a playful smirk. "Well, I'm honored to be considered a hero by such a lovely damsel. This is the part where I get the reward for saving you, right? Or is there still a dragon I accidentally missed on my way here?"

* * *

 _Back to playing the sweeping lead from earlier? Roxas would have made fun of him, should have made fun of the joke, but he didn't. Suddenly he felt like he was moving in slow motion, his heart beating hard in his chest as Axel smirked up at him._

 _A clumsy tongue formed the words, "You got enough dragons for me." He leaned in toward Axel, for once eye to eye, and closed his eyes. His lips found the right place without them._

* * *

Axel hadn't actually expected the kiss. Once Roxas' lips were on his, though- he didn't know how he didn't expect it months ago. His lips were exactly as soft as he'd been telling himself they looked. Perhaps softer.

Heat rushed from his chest to his face to everywhere at once, a hand slowly sliding up to rest on Roxas' cheek, thumb lightly brushing the skin as he pulled him a little closer. How had he not kissed him already?

After far too short a moment, they pulled apart, and green eyes searched Roxas' expression.

* * *

 _Axel's lips were so warm against his. A few seconds stretched by, Roxas floating in the bliss of having kissed Axel, until the hot feeling in his face dragged him back to reality, where he'd just kissed his friend who definitely wouldn't be inviting him out to any more parties after this._

 _He couldn't know how red his face was, but his guess was 'very'. Roxas pulled away slowly, eyes wide and lips still slightly parted. "I'm sorry?" No, that wasn't a question. "I'm sorry. That wasn't what I- It was nice, but-"_

* * *

Axel laughed as Roxas immediately sprung into apologizing. "Jeez, Roxas, tell me how you really feel."

He closed the gap between their lips one more time, expecting to be shoved away, told off, so on, so forth. After all, from Roxas' reaction, it wasn't Roxas' intention to follow through with the kiss, but god if Axel wasn't going to be the kind of jerk that sneaks one more just in case.

He could feel guilty about it later.

* * *

 _He laughed. He was smiling and laughing. Roxas didn't make it weird after all. And then Axel leaned down toward him again- Axel kissed him, and Roxas swore he felt a little lightheaded. In a good way._

 _Roxas's fingers found their way to Axel's jawline, just brushing his skin as Roxas rose to stand on his toes. But it was just a moment before they parted again, and Roxas lowered his heels back onto the pavement. His face was probably still red, but his look of horror had been replaced by a shy but shining smile._

* * *

Axel pulled away from the kiss, watching this angel lower himself down from his tiptoes and smile. He nearly melted, laughing softly. "Well, I don't think I'm going to get any better of a goodnight than that. Thanks for coming out with me- to the party-" he stumbled a bit, hand finding its way into his own hair, blushing. "Night, Roxy."

* * *

 _No better goodnight than that. Axel liked him? He liked him enough to kiss him back. He liked him enough to be stumbling over his words when he was saying goodnight. He... liked him._

 _Roxas nodded, his lips still parted in equal parts excitement, embarrassment, and lingering fatigue from the party. "Thanks for taking me out tonight," he managed to say back._

* * *

"Y-yeah. No problem."

His mind was reeling the entire ride back to his and Reno's apartment. Roxas was into him. Or at least was into guys. He was pretty sure of that already, Roxas had clearly tried to come out to him at least twice but clammed up at the last minute. But he was into Axel.

He laughed to himself. Hell of a wingman, to give him a good night kiss when he didn't get one from someone else.

 _Roxas._

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Finally getting that kiss in for you guys.**


End file.
